Venezia!

Perhaps our most picturesque day trip so far happened this week.  We took the high speed train to Venice to get up-close and personal with the floating city. It's amazing how the train system is so strict, yet so chaotic. We boarded the train and somehow ended up sitting in the beverage car on crusty-yellow bar seats the entire 2 hours. People sitting in other peoples assigned seats, some even in the wrong car/class. The train supervisors were a mess themselves, all they really cared about was sitting down and eating a snack (in 1st class seats, of course). We were glad to finally get to Venice, get off the train and see water!

Venice is a crazy maze of winding canals, sidewalks and alleyways that keeps most map-toting tourists frustrated for at least twenty percent of their visit here. We thought we knew exactly where we were going, but we are fools. Enter Google Maps and the phone equipped with the GPS.

Watching the gondola rides was fun, but once we saw the prices (100euros/140dollars) we decided that it was not for us. Besides, with dozens of low bridges and narrow canals covered in tourists and their huge lenses, nobody would call a gondola ride private or romantic. 

We began on the Grand Canal, a fiasco of water taxis, gondolas and ferries, all jockeying for position. It was interesting to see life on the water, it's almost what we would call a freeway. From there, we ventured deep into the heart of the labyrinth, and discovered a great pizza shop, making pies as large as patio table tops.  Sitting on the canal, it was easy to see why this city gets so crowded.  There's nothing like it.  

After lunch, we made our way to the main sights; St. Maria Basilica, St. Mark's Square, that really tall, brick tower (name unknown).  We saw the people in St. Mark's Square paying 1.5 euro to feed pigeons. Watching giggling tourists with pigeons clinging to every appendage was both gross and weird to be honest.  Whoever the fist salesman was to sell a tourist some day-old bread was a genius.  We weren't taking our chances with Bird Flu; so we pressed onward. 

We walked past colorful buildings of orange, yellow and red hues, the light at sunset was incredible. Both having visited Venice as kids, we never noticed the beauty in the architecture and the wonderful colors throughout the town. We are really glad we got to spend a day here and hopefully we will be back someday in the not so distant future.

Ciao!